On August 21 the California State Assembly voted 66-1 to pass AB 2444, banning the state from selling Confederate flags or displaying them.

An exemption would exist for “the flag’s use in school textbooks, public museums and other educational settings.”

According to The Huffington Post, AB 2444 was sponsored by Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton). Hall said, “No Californian should be exposed to the kind of hate or threat of violence caused by the display of the Confederate flag.”

Hall says his bill “respects Constitutional protections” inasmuch as it restricts “government speech, not individual speech.” He said the bill also sends “a strong message that California and its taxpayers will not be in the business of promoting racism, exclusion, oppression or violence toward others.”

In July, CA Governor Jerry Brown (D) “had all Confederate Flag materials swiftly removed from the California State Fair” after Hall complained about their “increased presence.”